Merry Christmas and Happy Anniversary

Merry Christmas 

1969

Merry Christmas to you all here at Family Trails. Let's have a walk down Memory Lane to Christmas Night spent at the Weaver family gathering. Our family cookbook, Seasoned With Love, by Lucretia Malone Mount Davenport, (see sidebar of related books), has an entire page devoted to the menu that we all enjoyed every Christmas in the beautifully decorated home on 412 Cherry Street. 

This night at "Tee's House" was a magical night for children of all ages. Of course it was dark outside when we all arrived. There was a fire in the fireplace in the sitting room. There were  bustling noises in the kitchen. The dining room was set with the finest silver, china, and crystal bowls. Cake stands were in each corner. The older boys were in the front yard shooting firecrackers. But the parlor was the room we wanted to see first because that was the room with the beautiful Christmas Tree. Ah, but there lies the obstacle… 

The older generation was "at their posts" in the parlor. 

In order for the children to finally get to see the Christmas tree, we must speak to and kiss all of the elderly patriarchs of the clan. They were giants of men to us…men who still wore garters to hold up their socks! Men who when they spoke held the attention of everyone in the room. Of course, we had all hugged and kissed all the aunts and great-aunts and waved to our cousins as we entered the house and hung up our coats. But the parlor was The Goal Line of the party so that we could see the presents under the tree. 

Not too long ago while in a store filled with decorations, I saw this bundle of gold and white artificial greenery. I just had to take a picture of it! Does it remind you of the beautiful and sparkly decorations of Tee's house?

In Seasoned With Love on page 209, Lucretia printed the traditional menu for 

"Christmas Night at Tee's."

Let's read it again…

Rebecca DeWine Riddick made these cards several years ago.

Weaver Family Eggnog

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Sliced Baked Ham

Hot Homemade Rolls 

Sliced Roast Turkey

Cranberry Sauce

Congealed Salads

Weaver Christmas Salad

Cheese Straws

Toasted Pecans

Assorted Homemade Cakes

Ambrosia

Pulled Candy

Coffee

*************************************

Christmas also has another special place in the Weaver family. Nancy Antoinette Haynes and Charles Sisson Weaver were married on December 24, 1885.

Story-telling was a huge part of our agenda at Tee's house, and recollections of "The Silver Anniversary Party" of Nettie and Charles were always a favorite subject. Thankfully for all of us and for generations to come, our dear "Aunt Nina" wrote this 6-page account of the big event. This paper is also included in our family cookbook. 

How did I get an original typed copy of Aunt Nina's remembrance, you ask? Well, I was in the sitting room while in college, taking "lessons" from Tee, Aunt Lallie, and Auntie on making the "Net Counted Placemats." Some of the supplies were in the bottom drawer of the chest in the sitting room, and I came across this. All of the great-aunts, my grandmother, and me talked about it and read parts aloud. I learned so much from listening to them reminisce about this special time in their lives. I suppose since I showed interest in the paper and the anniversary party, they let me take the paper home.  I am so thankful that they did allow me to have it. I think now that our Family Trails was long in the making even before 2014. 

So please enjoy reading this…..(and look at the end for a surprise find!)

"Recollections Of Mother and Father's Silver Wedding Anniversary" by Nina Weaver Dodge.

 

The surprise find! 

The original invitation to the Silver Wedding Anniversary Party

And an article from The Daily Home newspaper in Talladega commemorating the

 GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY!

I hope each of you have a very Merry Christmas.

 I wish for you 

calm in the busy-ness, 

peace at home in spite of turmoil worldwide,

 time with family,

 safe travels,

 good food, 

and 

CHEESE STRAWS!

With Love,
Mariellan

Advent II and III… and Computer Issues!

Dear Family Trails readers, 

these past 2 weeks have been very challenging in the world of cyber space. Right in the middle of Advent and at a time of hustle and bustle,,,when quiet times and reflection are so important, I had my head orbiting in a world of words that I barely understood..."You need a new modem, Ma'am," and "This router is out of date." I had a little panic there last week about all of this, and tried to explain to our technician that this would never do! I had a blog to write, for goodness sake! Didn't he understand? 

So please forgive me for missing a post last Weaver Wednesday! 

On a positive note about this internet issue", we had the most helpful technician solve the problem. Not only did he correct and replace the modem and router, he gave us his personal phone number and offered to us to call him directly whenever we have any problem again! Isn't this amazing…in in a world of speaking to machines and robotic tele-promptors, we have a Human Being who wants us to call on him! I told him he was a wonderful Christmas present!

I wanted to share these precious pictures from Christmas night at Tee and Aunt Nina's house in 1969.
These are from my little photo albums I made as a 10 year old. I remember them so well. I was trying to earn my photography badge for Girl Scouts, so I have loads of these square pictures. Isn't is nice that they were developed with the date on them!
These two lovebirds are Alice and Bob, and the first picture is Chuck! So cute!

THE TREE

AS children, we could not wait to run into the parlor of Tee and Aunt Nina's house to see the tree! It was always beautiful.

There are presents under the tree. I think I remember that we drew names in different age groups for a few years.

Look at this Christmas time capsule! Nancy Weaver, Alice, Bill, Tommy DeWine, and Rebecca in the sitting room. 

And a precious picture from Alice and Bob… I think George took it and shared it…

Tee and Aunt Nina, always the queens of Hospitality! They welcomed all of us and any strangers into their home as if we all were the most important people in the world! It never mattered if we popped in or if it was a planned visit. Anything else these dear aunts were doing stopped, and all of their attention was on their guests. This is a great example to live by. I hope that in my wildest dreams I can be at least HALF as gracious to others as they were to me EVERY SINGLE TIME we appeared at their door. 

I hope your Advent season is a blessed one. I thank you for continuing to follow along on our Family Trails. I will try not to let the trail get thick with" the underbrush and brambles and thorns" that try to slow one down on a trail, and we can continue on a weekly basis to come together and learn more about our Weaver heritage. 

See you all next "Weaver Wednesday"!

"Lord, You have been our refuge from one generation to another. Before the mountains were brought forth, or the land and the earth were born, from age to age you are God.
                                                                                                                         Psalm 90:1-2

Card from Grandfather Weaver's Scrapbook

Advent and ….Quilts?

Good "Weaver Wednesday" to all of you who have come back for more of our Family Trails. Thanksgiving was a blessing and a very special time with family. There was time to reflect on past Thanksgivings…and a wonderful opportunity to enjoy new Thanksgivings. 

And now we begin our "Waiting Time" of Advent, preparing our hearts for the coming of the Christ Child. 

Are you thinking by now…. Mariellan, why then have you posted pictures of horses and quilts? 

Okay, I agree with you. This is not exactly what one would expect the next subject to be in the first week of December. 

 But I really want to share with you a project that has been 200 years in the making! Literally!
200 hundred years! A dream of mine has been to photograph all of the quilts and counterpanes that I have that were lovingly made by Weaver women during the past 200 years. So when the leaves turned their beautiful Fall colors, daughter, Rebecca, and I packed up quilts and cameras and headed to a local farm near town that is in my daughter-in-law's family.

 I mentioned once that daughter, Rebecca, has started a photography business. She looks for any opportunity to "stretch her creative eye" and agreed to shoot for me. I hope you will enjoy her pictures of this afternoon.  Please visit her website to she her amazing photography, RebeccaWisePhotography.com They are beautiful and capture the atmosphere of Fall leaves, clear blue skies,  and freshly cut meadows.

 As we expected, the precious little Icelandic ponies became very interested in our mission. But I must say, the ponies were very respectful of these heirloom textiles. They come from a great heritage also, so I am sure they were raised to respect the heritage of others.

 Just enjoy the next few shots….

 Now here is where the project goes a step further. My mother, Nancy Harper DeWine, and I planned to one day embroider "labels" for each textile to document the pattern, the creator, and the time it was stitched. It is with great regret that I tell you that she and I never did accomplish this goal.
But as The Reverend Mother tells Maria in The Sound of Music, "When God closes a door, He opens a window." And the window that opened for me was to my cousin on my husband's side of the family, Patricia. Pip's Craft Room,(Facebook.com) as she calls her budding embroidery business, welcomed my vision of creating labels for these many textiles. It will be quite a task , but Patricia has already finished 4 labels for me. I would love to show you one of them in progress…

 I will hand-stitch this label onto the green and white patchwork quilt you can see in the above picture. I think I will dig through my vintage ribbons and trim and then frame the hemmed label once I have hand-stitched it to the back of the quilt.

u

 I am so very excited to start this project. But what a busy time of year to be inspired to do this! I feel sure that I must put it away until the cold, short days of Winter. As I finish them, I will share with you the finished pieces.

By the way, a few years ago. I wrote the editors of Alabama Heritage proposing what I thought would be a very interesting article about the 5 generations of an Alabama family's hand-made textiles. (One is hand-spun and woven!) I did not even get a nibble of interest! That could be my next goal-to write it myself!

Do you have a family textile that you would like to see featured here at Family Trails? I will soon write about the individual pieces that I have because they each tell a great story. I would love to include yours also.

I hope all of you have a nice week. What great weather we are experiencing here is the South. And thank you once again for checking in with our Family Trails. 

Come, let us sing to the Lord; let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving and raise a loud shout to Him with psalms. 
                                                                                                 Psalm 95:1-2

Happy Thanksgiving!

Good morning,  Family Trails readers. Here are just a few little snippets to encourage you as you prepare for your own special Thanksgiving day. 

Above and below is a sweet card from long ago…. to inspire you for today's Thanksgiving!

 I do not recognize this name inside the card…

 Here is a card sent in 1940, postmarked from Louisville (no state needed on the envelope then, I guess!) It is addressed to Mr. and Mrs. C.S. Weaver, Talladega, Ala. (No street address needed!) From "Circle Four", First Baptist Church, W.M.S.
Look in the list of the ladies who signed the card… a Mrs. C. D. Weaver signed….any clues as to who this is? Aunt Era?
Update on  this: I wrote this last week, and since then I have gone over and over in my head about how Aunt Era's name got on a card from Louisville, Kentucky. here's what I think… I think the card is from "Circle Four" at the First Baptist Church in Talladega. Some of the other last names are familiar names to me through my mother's stories of girls she grew up with, Jenkins, Riddle, and Hall. Maybe Grandfather Weaver saved an envelope from Louisville and slid this card inside.

Surely Grandfather Weaver was receiving mail from Louisville at that time though. I need to check my dates, but his grandson, William Weaver, and his grandson-in -law, Louis Armstrong, studied to be ministers in Louisville.
Oh, the mysteries….

So is anyone looking for some holiday inspiration? How about this Weaver Family classic…

"The 1-2-3-4 Cake with Caramel Icing"

Lora Antoinette Weaver Ragsdale-"Tee"-wrote these recipe cards and gave them to me at my kitchen shower in 1981. Tee's Caramel Cake is definitely a great inspiration for all cooks planning a family gathering. 

Quote by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I am thankful to the readers of Family Trails this Thanksgiving. Our family story is special, and it is  an honor for me to write it. As our readers' numbers grow, I am touched that such a personal story speaks to those who are in other families. I guess the truth is …we all have a family, and we all have a story. I think when someone reads about our family, it helps them connect to their own families just a little bit tighter. If even one little blog post helps any of us in a small way to connect, to reach out, to remember others who may not have such a strong family on which to lean, then this little adventure is on a good path…

So if you are traveling this Thanksgiving or staying home…eating turkey and dressing or Chinese take-out, I wish all of you a very blessed and safe Thanksgiving holiday.

Quote by Charles Dickens

Thanksgiving Treasures

 Good afternoon, Family Trails! This week's Weaver Wednesday edition is a little late today! 

I hope you have all had a great week and that you have stayed warm during this Arctic blast. Those of us here in the sunny South have been taken by surprise… now where did I pack up those hats and gloves? I still have not found them! 

Oh, well, let's "talk turkey"! Or rather,  let's"talk Thanksgiving!" I cannot think about the turkey yet!

Let's get back to the scrapbooks of Grandfather Weaver. Tucked away among many articles that Grandfather Weaver saved are several publications about the pilgrims. This picture above is the front and back cover of a little booklet, "The Story of the Pilgrims." On the back cover can be seen the John Hancock Life Insurance Company logo.  Maybe one of our knowledgable kinfolk can tell us if he had a policy from this company. Anyway, the booklet is very informative about the Pilgrims and their hardships settling in The New World. 

On this page are listed the passengers who lived aboard The Mayflower. So interesting! Wow! Talk about Women's Rights! Check out how the wives were listed. 

There is more in this little booklet than most of us learned in school pertaining to the Pilgrims. After sailing from Southhampton, England on August 15, 1620, the Mayflower sailed for 99 days. After landing in Plymouth Harbor, most of the passengers did not even leave the little ship until 

January 2, 1621. 

As I mentioned above…. this is more news than I ever remember studying. Pilgrims have become charicatured so much over the past almost 400 years, that the true meaning of why they endured these hardships has all but gotten lost in the textbooks.  

This pamphlet, below, was also among the papers that C.S. Weaver saved. I have folded it out to show both sides of the paper. 

 

And here is a card that he saved from Plymouth Co-Operative Federal Savings,

44 Main Street, Plymouth Massachusetts. I am so thankful that my Great-Grandfather saved these mail-outs that he received. I do not know why he was on these mailing lists, but I am enjoying the mystery.

 I hope all of you have a very blessed week as you prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving. 

There are so many delicious recipes in our family cookbook, Seasoned With Love. I would love to hear from you about what you are cooking for your Thanksgiving! 

****Special Correction****

In last week's post, I made a mistake about how to order more family cookbooks. I meant to  type 

Lulu.com

as the online source. Please note this correction. 

Cousins and Cookbooks

Readers, I find it hard to write this "Weaver Wednesday"'s installment of Family Trails without taking a look back at our last week together. Minutes after publishing last week's edition, the "Weaver Family" learned that our dear family member, Robert Cooper Weaver, had passed away. Uncle Robert was an extraordinary man who did ordinary things that changed people's lives. Many family and friends and colleagues came to his service to honor Robert because he had touched their lives, and they are better because of him. His devotion to the children at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind over the years is hard to sum up in a little family blog. 

Robert standing in front of his grandparents' parlor fireplace.

"Mr. Weaver…the Ice Cream Man"

Street sign dedicated in Robert's honor on the campus of AIDB

Uncle Robert was famously known as The Ice Cream Man to the children at the AIDB. We can all imagine the looks on the children's faces when Mr. Weaver arrived to scoop up ice cream for them. But in all the years past, he has met many larger challenges that the children faced every day. He started youth sports leagues; he coached; he traveled with the children so that they could attend a college sporting event; he taught Bible classes and Sunday School lessons. In these seemingly small acts of kindness, what he was really doing was helping children with disabilities realize that they could reach any goal that they set for themselves in life!  

Why then, is the Red Goose shoe sign on this post? Some readers who are new to our Weaver ways may not recognize this sign, but it is an ICON in our family history! This sign has remained lit in the Wood-Weaver Shoes storefront for years! I do not know how many years this sign has been in the shoe store, but in my memory, at least as long as the early 1960's. 

Uncle Robert and his father, Kiser Weaver, owned and operated this shoe store. 

At Robert's funeral, some people in attendance came forward to tell how their parents were never turned away if they could not afford shoes for their children. 

Uncle Robert and his Godchild, Rebecca

So it is a tribute to Robert and his father  that the florist shop owner on the square has offered to keep the sign lit in her window in honor of them. The next time you are in Talladega, be sure to look for Uncle Robert's Red Goose sign lighting up the Talladega Square!

Uncle Robert, below, in front of the entrance to The Weaver Library, First Baptist Church, Talladega
(Future post story, for sure! )

For the Family Trails history enthusiasts, did you know that there was a ship that served in our Navy's fleet, named the USS Talladega! A few years ago, Uncle Robert made sure that all who visit Talladega know about this ship and the men who served our country aboard this ship. Robert designed and had made a bronze monument that stands on the courthouse square in Talladega. I 'll share a few pictures today of us seeing the monument just a few years ago with Robert. But rest assured, readers, I will post more about the USS Talladega in a future post. 

Robert and his great-cousin, Patrick

Lunch on the square in Talladega with cousins! 

**************************************************************

Seasoned With Love

by Lucretia Malone Mount Davenport

Well, Family Trails readers, let's have a short introduction to our family cookbook! What a blessing this book has been to our family for  the past 30 years! Seasoned With Love was written by our Aunt Lucretia. As you can see by one of my copies below, it is VERY well loved! Lucretia put many long hours of love and research into writing this cookbook. Seasoned With Love is filled with generations of favorite recipes, menus from eventful family gatherings, family tree information, and poems and stories about growing up in the young and emerging town of Talladega, Alabama. The cover of the book is Lucretia's own painting of the family home place at 305 Oak Street. 

This may seem very sad to you to see a book in this condition, but I assure you that it is from lots of use. (I have the cover!) I love to try the recipes in this book, but I definitely have my favorite

 "GO-TO" recipes. 

The cookbook has gone through a few revisions, adding new genealogy and recipes. Here are 2 pictures showing new editions. The picture on the left shows the book when it was  bound like a book. This is a great edition for the bookshelf because the title is on the spine of the the book. The picture on the right is the newest edition. We love this spiral binding. This edition can be obtained by going to zulu.com.  INSERT A VERY IMPORTANT NOTE HERE: this is not the website, called Zulilly…. Two different sites! The books are printed on demand and only take about 2 or 3 weeks to arrive at your door. You will enjoy going to zulu.com and reading about Aunt Lucretia too.  I am so thankful that Lucretia has joined forces with Zulu to insure that this book will continue to be available.  (I just have to share a secret! But I can't say too much…not yet… I may have found a bookstore that wants to carry our family cookbook. More to come later….. Shhhh!)

A very big thank you to Lucretia for writing this treasure for our family! And especially for allowing all of us to call Seasoned With Love "our cookbook."